As Russia prosecutes more online hate speech than ever, its first convict wins on appeal in Strasbourg
Source: Meduza
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favor of Savva Terentyev, the first Internet user in Russia ever convicted of extremism for a comment posted online, finding that Russian courts violated his freedom of expression by sentencing him to a year’s probation for writing in February 2007 that “it would be nice to burn crooked cops.”
The ECHR declined to award Terentyev any non-pecuniary damages, determining that its verdict is sufficient “moral compensation.” Russia will, however, have to pay him 5,000 euros ($5,850) in compensation for legal fees.